Cobb’s Quay Berth Holders Association

2025 AGM

MINUTES of the 2025 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

held at COBBS BAR & KITCHEN

on SATURDAY 29th MARCH commencing at 10.00am

Committee Members present:-	Apologies from Committee members:-
Jonathan Saunders – Chairman	Clive Snow – No portfolio
Kevin Butler – Vice Chairman Carol Turner – Secretary	Wally Gilder – Membership Secretary Emma Butler – Promotion & PR
Peter Hayton – Webmaster Peter Buchan – Treasurer Jim Reynolds – Member Representative

Introduction

The Chairman began the meeting by introducing the CQBHA committee members present and explaining the meeting format. The formal AGM business would be dealt with first – during which Paul Glatzel from Powerboat Training UK would explain the training events available to members during the 2025 season.

The Marina Manager – Kelly Trewern – was unable to attend due to a domestic emergency. However, she had provided written answers to questions that had been submitted in advance and the Chairman would relay these to the meeting. Kelly would be organising an online meeting to present a marina update and to answer any further questions sent to the Chairman (chairman@cqnha.org).

Chairman’s Report

The meeting began with a vote on acceptance of the 2024 AGM Minutes – proposed by Paul Roberts, seconded by Kevin Butler and carried by a majority.

The Chairman’s report had been published in advance of the meeting on the CQBHA website (Chairman’s Report), in a special Newsletter and on the Facebook Forum.

Cruising was still a priority for the Association and successful cruises to Lymington, Isle of Wight, Guernsey & Weymouth had been organised in 2024. The 2025 Cruising Programme was available for booking through the CQBHA website with trips to Port Hamble, Weymouth, Cowes, Mercury, Yarmouth and Guernsey.

Paul Glatzel from Powerboat Training UK had organised some shore-based training courses and practical events during 2024. A different format was on offer for the 2025 season in the form of ‘drop-in’ sessions on boat handling and safety, based near the dock office and running every few weeks at the start of the season up until June /July 2025. Dates would be published through PTUK, CQBHA and MDL Cobbs Quay Marina channels. Sessions would be free but a donation to the RNLI would be appreciated.

Jonathan reported that MDL were refurbishing the BBQ area for the season.

Jonathan had contacted the Leisure Representative on the Bridges Operating Board, but was more confident that Kelly would raise issues of concern to members.

Membership had increased by 23 in the past year and the Association continued to communicate with its members via the website, an email newsletter, Facebook and a members only Facebook Forum. Jonathan explained that MDL do not have access to the Forum. However, he reports any significant issues raised on the Forum to Kelly in his monthly meetings with the Cobbs Quay Management Team.

Kevin Butler planned to have bi-monthly sessions with the pontoon reps and was seeking volunteers for ‘A’ and ‘C’ pontoons.

Jonathan appealed for more committee members and / or assistance with specific tasks – in particular membership, admin for cruises and the email Newsletter. Committee meetings were now held online using MS Teams rather than in person. Without some help, there was a risk that the association would not continue. CQBHA was the only active association among the MDL Marinas. Jonathan believed that the best method of influencing MDL was through constructive ideas and facts.

Members commented that morale was low among the Cobbs Quay staff – resulting in a high staff turnover. Of particular concern was the introduction of the Meter Macs system. The office staff seemed inadequately trained for the problems and queries arising. Jonathan stressed that Meter Macs and any other issues should to be raised with the office first – ideally using the feedback email CobbsQuayFeedback@mdlmarinas.co.uk and to cc him in if appropriate. This method of communication had a Service Level Agreement for responses. Some issues were outside of Kelly’s control, but she would be able to escalate to Head Office with sufficient evidence. Kevin reported that Meter Macs was in use at Ocean Village and Hythe, but some of the problems associated with tides were unique to Cobbs Quay. He also reported that CQ berth holders would still need to use metered leads at the other MDL Marinas without Meter Macs to avoid the £5 daily electricity charge.

A WhatsApp group was suggested as a way for the marina to advise berth holders of problems – such as electricity outages. Kelly was in favour but the idea had to be approved by Head Office. Meter Macs was not sending notifications of power failures – only unplugging. A training session on Meter Macs could be helpful.

Mike Glanville was no longer the MDL CEO and it was suggested that his replacement be invited to Kelly’s online meeting.

Treasurer’s Report

The Treasurer’s report had been published in advance of the meeting on the CQBHA website (Treasurers Report), in a special Newsletter and on the Facebook Forum. Peter Buchan presented the accounts which showed that the Association made a net gain £876.27 in 2024. A new noticeboard and banners had been purchased. Any suggestions for spending to benefit all members would be welcomed. Kevin Butler proposed the motion to accept the accounts, Peter Hayton seconded and the members voted in favour.

Election of Officers

There had been no nominations for committee members. Wally Gilder was resigning from the post of Member Secretary but had offered to assist until a replacement was found. Ivor Moorhouse proposed and Gary Hirons seconded the motion that the rest of the committee be re-elected en bloc and the members voted in favour.

The Official AGM business concluded at 10.45am.

Q&A session

The following questions had been submitted in advance for Kelly who provided answers shown in red.

In Kelly’s absence, Jonathan read out the questions and answers.

Meter Macs Roll out

There have been issues with the Meter Macs roll out and there are some points to clear up please :-

The contract is written as for EVs. Will this be updated?

This has been passed on to Meter Macs for advice

Could you please confirm the KWH rate and how it is made up (i.e. energy cost, standing charge etc.)

Currently 25p per KWH, electricity is charged at what MDL is charged, the standing charge is 8p per unit

Some people have had money missing from their accounts.

This is with Meter Macs and is looked at in an individual basis, my understanding is the cases reported have been rectified

Meter Macs operatives have told people the system doesn’t work at low tide. It seems does appear to fail at some states of tide.

High gains aerials have been installed and the issue is now mostly resolved, however we are still in talks with Meter Macs

Dashboards showing units at the start were high due to pre-install units before the go live date.

It appears that after the systems was installed people continued on the old lead until it was working and Meter Macs recorded the ‘old lead paid for’ units as well as those used on a ‘live’ Meter Macs system (on the web-based programme). How has double charging been avoided?

All meters have been read prior to the go live date

There has been an instance of a balance on an account one day of £60 and the next of zero

This was dealt with by Meter Macs and resolved, cases will be looked at on individual basis, however this appears to be a rare occurrence

Could you explain what happens when you disconnect from a socket and someone else reconnects to it?

When connecting, you enter in to the Meter Macs portal what pedestal and socket you are plugged in to, the system recognises this, if your cable is unplugged the system knows this and closes your account down, when another customer plugs in to the socket, they have to enter the pedestal and socket number for Meter Mac to allow electricity to the socket

If someone else connects to your socket will their units appear on your account/will you be charged?

No, a socket is not assigned to the customer, the customer has to let Meter Macs know what socket they are plugged in to

How do you reconnect to your socket after it has been used by someone else? Is it at the socket or in the app?

The same way as you originally plugged in, you plug the cable in to your chosen socket and in the portal you select which socket you are in, if you are not at the marina, the team can plug your cable in, let you know the location and you can switch the socket on via your account on the Meter Macs portal

How can you ensure you are always in credit? Do you need to know your unit usage so you put enough credit on the account?

You will be notified by email when you are low on credit and you can then top up your account

How it the yard electricity supply being managed as there do not seem to be enough outlets for boats ashore?

The yard will be managed the same as the pontoons, prior to commencement of installation the number of sockets in the yard were discussed and with the mobile boxes there are 72 more sockets available than before

What is the process to get reconnected after you have been advised by email of the removal of the lead either on the pontoon or in the yard?

If you are not at the marina you can contact the marina office, we can plug you in and you can turn the electric back on remotely via your account

People are considering leaving connections in rather than unplug which could be dangerous.

To avoid getting an email saying they are unplugged some people seem to be either unplugging the boat leaving a live trailing lead or leaving a notice saying don’t unplug. (particularly dangerous if it were to fall in the water). This is to save them the need to go into the web-based system and re allocate sockets and numbers.

This is no different than before the system was installed and you can remotely switch the electricity off via your account if you do not require it

There appear to be a lack on sockets on B Pontoon? Could more be added?

To be confirmed

If there is outage on a whole pontoon (as with C and D recently) would it be possible for the office to switch the whole pontoon back on allowing those with credit to have a continuity of supply and those without credit to top up after receiving an e mail?

This is possible, we are able to switch the boxes to always live, should a serious issue arise

Some bills have been sent out with errors e.g. very large amounts. Is there any ‘checking’ that is/could be done to avoid this?

My apologies, these are the final invoices prior to the go live of Meter Macs and was an error, all issues have now been resolved

Other matters

Could you please explain the plans for F Pontoon and its car park and the time scales?

The work is due to commence in August, the delay being down to local authority planning and licences

It has been noted that vehicles are left in the F Pontoon car park for months on end is any action planned. It has been commented that when a notice has been placed the car is just moved.

We have been in contact with the council with regards to remove these vehicles

Could you explain why the decision was taken not to offer a discount on purchase of Harbour Dues please?

Due to PHC implementing a new software system, it was decided both by MDL and PHC that all payments for Harbour Dues would be paid directly to PHC. The discount was an MDL discount, that we offered to customers who paid in April, the PHC do not offer this discount

Are those boats on the MDL Host scheme checked for contract compliance?

To be confirmed

The ventilation in the facilities still seems to be a problem – especially in the family rooms. Is this being monitored?

The ventilation was fixed some months ago and we are happy that it is working as it should be, this is monitored periodically

If there are issues seen in the facilities how would you like them to be reported?

Please report to the office at the time of discovery

Having had another ‘lift out’ season (Feb/Mar/Apr) which still saw a very congested car park do you plan any changes for next year?

We are always looking at ways to improve our services and the lifting packages will be reviewed this year

Were Summer lift outs successful and will they happen this year?

We had multiple summer scrub bookings last year and we plan to offer them again this year

There have been reports of items discarded around the yard, some of which resulted in punctures. Could action be taken to address this?

This has been addressed, the yard is checked and cleared every Monday and Friday afternoons, I would ask customers to be mindful of the storage and disposal of screws and other metal items

Could a social media site (SMS/WhatsApp for example) be used to announce issues, or planned maintenance. Would be so useful for berth holders that travel multiple hours to find showers not working, electricity problems etc.

To be confirmed

Marina Updates:-

Kelly also provided the following Marina Updates

Upcoming Events: –

Mothering Sunday event, Pimm’s and posies
Meet the manager – Date to be confirmed
Marina day – 26/04/25 including a boat jumble, emails to be sent next week with info

Projects: –

We have replaced the bridge to F and pontoon works in A, C & D pontoons have now been completed.
Security fencing has been installed to F pontoon car park and the back-perimeter wall.

Upcoming projects: –

Quay wall replacement F pontoon car park, August 25, we will arrange a temporary car park for F pontoon customers, with access to trolleys

Further discussion / queries raised at the meeting: –

Does the electricity charge include VAT?
Any electricity outage which doesn’t generate an email should be reported
Need to get a warning if account credit falls below £5
Harbour Dues discount withdrawn because insufficient people purchasing via office?
MDL Host Boats – only 2 issues reported in 2 years?
Reported theft by another berth holder – no action taken by MDL
Continued abuse of disabled parking – no action taken by MDL
Report progress from CQBHA / MDL meetings in the CQBHA Newsletter
Facilities redecoration – a contractor has been employed
Use Forum – but be polite!
Boats being relaunched without owner’s knowledge or permission?
Security – some cameras are still not working
A yard electrician should be employed
Direction of flow for bridges should be announced – this is on agenda for next BOB meeting
Host Boats are contractually obliged to have a holding tank?

Jonathan concluded the meeting at 12:00 noon by thanking members for attending and thanking Liv and the staff of the Cobbs Bar and Kitchen for hosting the event and providing the refreshments.

Chairman: Jonathan Saunders.

Email: chairman@cqbha.org

Download the 2024 AGM Minutes

Download the 2023 AGM Minutes

Download the 2022 AGM Minutes

Download the 2020-21 AGM Annual Report

Download the 2019-20 AGM Annual Report

Download the 2019 AGM Minutes

Download the 2018 AGM Minutes

Download the 2017 AGM Minutes

Download the 2016 AGM Minutes

Download the 2015 AGM Minutes